Local officials in the southern Indian state of Kerala have confirmed that at least 22 persons were killed after a double-decker boat collapsed off the shore of the town of Tanur in the Malappuram district. Abdul Nazar, the junior superintendent of police for the Malappuram district, claimed that the boat capsized at around 7pm local time (13:30 GMT) on Sunday evening due to overcrowding. The vessel had been carrying approximately 40 incoming people. We found the bodies of 22 people, including women and children. Moosa Vadakkethil, a senior fire officer in Malappuram, said on Monday that the rescue operation was underway.
The cause of the tourist boat capsize at Tanur’s Thooval Theeram beach remains unknown. Most of the casualties were youngsters, V Abdurahiman, minister of sports and fisheries for the state, who was assisting to organize rescue attempts, said. Abdurahiman told reporters late on Sunday that the death toll was expected to grow as the boat was stranded in muddy waters and rescuers were pulling it out to rescue people trapped aboard. “Pained by the loss of lives due to the boat mishap in Malappuram, Kerala,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted. The governor of the state expressed his sympathies to the victims’ families and asked the district’s officials to supervise the rescue operation when he arrived there later on Monday. According to a government announcement quoted by the Press Trust of India, Monday would be a national day of mourning. According to accounts from Indian media, survivors claimed the boat was overloaded and that most passengers were not wearing life vests. According to NDTV’s report, the boat didn’t have a safety certificate either.
According to local media, the police have filed a case of culpable murder against the boat’s owner. In India, many boats lack necessary safety equipment and are overcrowded, leading to a high rate of boating accidents. Twelve persons were lost in September of 2020 when a tourist boat sank in the flooded Godavari River in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. In May of 2018, a boat carrying 30 persons sank in the same area.
